‘Dancing with the Stars’ 17: Snooki, ‘Glee’s’ Amber Riley, Leah Remini in rumored cast
This is somewhat of an interesting development when it comes to the future of “Dancing with the Stars.” With the show losing a night this year, and more opportunities for celebrities to appear on the show, we assumed that it was going to have a negative impact on casting. On the flip side, it appears as though maybe giving less firm commitments has at least enabled one of the better lineups in years to suddenly become interested in the show.
While not every name that we have for you below (per TMZ) is an enormous star, they are at least people that we have heard of … which is a step above some past seasons, which have contained a good 3-4 people who were complete unknowns to us, and that is with us spending hundreds of hours a month writing and talking about TV.
Valerie Harper – Clearly the most surprising name, given that she was diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (a rare form of cancer) in March and was told she only had three months to live. The 74-year old actress is a great story, and while she is doing significantly better, this is still an enormous risk for the show to take.
Snooki – A slightly funny choice, given that she has insulted the show in some ways in the past by suggesting that she would only appear when her career was on the way down. Well Snooki, your past quote speaks for itself!
Leah Remini – Well known for “The King of Queens” and “The Talk,” Leah’s been in the headlines lately for taking on the Church of Scientology.
Elizabeth Berkley – We’re guessing that she is not going to be reprising anything from “Showgirls” for this season.
Amber Riley – The first “Glee” star to compete on the show, and someone who should do fairly well given her choreography history with the show’s numbers. Also, big fan following.
Christina Milian – This one is kind of hilarious. Milian said that she was leaving “The Voice” to focus more on her music … and now she’s on this show, which is a competitor to “The Voice.” Not exactly much loyalty there. She was not as irritating there as Brooke Burke-Charvet is here, but it’s close. (Then again, there’s little room for excitement in the jobs that these two ladies are given.)
We’ll have more soon, and hopefully, the rest of the cast are more than just no-names kept out of this report for a reason. Also, click here if you want to see what pro dancer is not returning to the show this year.
Photo: ABC